18 Feb 2018

There is a high number of children living in the streets of Ghanzi Township due to desertion from schools, children coming from squatter areas in the township and nearby farms.

Answering a question in Parliament on Thursday from MP for Ghanzi North, Mr Noah Salakae, Assistant Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Frans Van Der Westhuizen said interventions had largely been family based through economic empowerment as well as provision of life skills to both parents and children.

He said the education system had also served as a protective mechanism for many children, hence the return of children to schools and ensuring that they stay there, through provision of basic needs and transportation to and from schools.

The assistant minister said a non-governmental organisation called Window of Hope, in collaboration with Ghanzi District Council and other stakeholders continued to provide psycho-social support services to identified children living in streets as well as facilitating their access to basic educational services, as a way of empowering and taking them away from the streets.

MP Salakae had asked the assistant minister what government was doing to address the high number of children living in the streets of Ghanzi Township, which has skyrocketed to unmanageable proportions. Ends